I've just taken delivery of a 10 metre spool of shielded Fisual Hollywood Dark Twist speaker cable and having never used this type of cable before i am unsure of the correct way to terminate.
I am planning on fitting banana plugs from the same company, screw type that have two
connectors , one at the bottom and one at the top on opposite sides of the shaft.
The cable is constructed using a braid of 50/50 OFC and SPOFC wire around HDPE cores for the +/- , two PP fillers , a foil wrap and twisted inside an outer HDPE jacket.
My question is do i peel back the wire braid from the inner core , cut the core away then twist before connecting the plugs or do i just expose enough wire to fit the plug and leave the braid/core as it is and tighten the screws onto it?
Since i ordered i've read that this type of cable can damage amplifiers especially valve types.
If i go ahead they'll be cut into 3 metre lengths and used between a Cambridge AM 1 Topaz and Monitor Audio MR 1 speakers .
Am i going to fry my amp , damage the speakers etc. ? The cable has lots of positive reviews on various sites , advice / thoughts appreciated.
No doubt this thread will soon degenerate into ' heated ' discussion between science / voodoo but that was not my intention i just want some sensible advice from people that have experience with this type of cable , tia .
I am planning on fitting banana plugs from the same company, screw type that have two
connectors , one at the bottom and one at the top on opposite sides of the shaft.
The cable is constructed using a braid of 50/50 OFC and SPOFC wire around HDPE cores for the +/- , two PP fillers , a foil wrap and twisted inside an outer HDPE jacket.
My question is do i peel back the wire braid from the inner core , cut the core away then twist before connecting the plugs or do i just expose enough wire to fit the plug and leave the braid/core as it is and tighten the screws onto it?
Since i ordered i've read that this type of cable can damage amplifiers especially valve types.
If i go ahead they'll be cut into 3 metre lengths and used between a Cambridge AM 1 Topaz and Monitor Audio MR 1 speakers .
Am i going to fry my amp , damage the speakers etc. ? The cable has lots of positive reviews on various sites , advice / thoughts appreciated.
No doubt this thread will soon degenerate into ' heated ' discussion between science / voodoo but that was not my intention i just want some sensible advice from people that have experience with this type of cable , tia .
Connect the shield of the speaker cable to mass of the power plug.
Additionally, use the speaker cable in the right direction.
If printed on it, arrow in the right direction.
If not printed, the direction of the printed font.
Additionally, use the speaker cable in the right direction.
If printed on it, arrow in the right direction.
If not printed, the direction of the printed font.
Thanks for the reply but i'm not sure of what you mean by attaching the shield to the power plug ?
The reason it has a shield is beyond most who are qualified in Electronal Engineering, as it is not a signal cable.
The shield should be connected to the ground of the equipment and the two conductors accordingly to your speaker plugs.
It makes absolutely no difference with the way around the signal flows, purely aesthetics.
That cable sounds like a lot of money for no gain.
Valve amplifiers are not bothered by any type of cabling.
The shield should be connected to the ground of the equipment and the two conductors accordingly to your speaker plugs.
It makes absolutely no difference with the way around the signal flows, purely aesthetics.
That cable sounds like a lot of money for no gain.
Valve amplifiers are not bothered by any type of cabling.
Thanks for clarifying John , yeah bit of an impulse buy it was only 20 quid and i've used 'normal ' Fisual cable with good results , you get a lot for your money in terms of quality.
Think i'll stick to what i have and chuck it in my parts bin for now .
Think i'll stick to what i have and chuck it in my parts bin for now .
Their terminated cable seems to either connect the shield to one signal connector or leave it unconnected; there is no third connection. The former might not 'work' for a bridged amp, while the latter turns the shield almost into an 'un-shield'. Fortunately a shield on a speaker cable is not needed, but will do little harm if present.
I can't seem to find much info on these cables, but with respect to shields on speaker cables- they're not really needed. Either connect it on amplifier speaker ground or leave it disconnected, I'd suggest disconnected as it will reduce the additional capacitance introduced.
Only in very rare circumstances (Weird finnicky amp, prosound with 100+ foot runs, etc) would speaker leads need shielding.
Only in very rare circumstances (Weird finnicky amp, prosound with 100+ foot runs, etc) would speaker leads need shielding.
When you guys say connect the shield to the amp ground exactly which part of the cable are you talking about? there are only the two +/- conductors each of which is braided around a ' plastic ' core which is coloured for polarity , theres no separate ground like you get with turntable rca 's , i'm confused.
Unless you are using a filterless Class D Amplifier, I can't see the necessity of use a shielded cable, with a tube or SS linear amplifier.
A pro-audio guy and member of this forum, who installs large stadium sound systems reports that some pro amplifies are unhappy with shielded speaker cables.
Looks like i made a foolish mistake , this is what happens when i shop drunk , there was an Audioquest RCA ic in the box too , something i would never have bought sober 🙂 luckily it was only the base model.
Sorry i doubted you Van Damme .
Sorry i doubted you Van Damme .
Hi Scott yes ( see my original post )stripping the covering from the positive and negative leads reveals a silver and copper braid like a co-ax around a thin colour coded plastic core ( no metal at all ) theres two fillers and then the whole lots wrapped in a foil sleeve then twisted into the outer casing.
I ' m confused by the grounding people have mentioned , maybe shielded is the wrong word ? the wording on the outer case says screened i assume screened / shielded means the same thing ?
I ' m confused by the grounding people have mentioned , maybe shielded is the wrong word ? the wording on the outer case says screened i assume screened / shielded means the same thing ?
I'm confused by the description! No worries, the main reason I asked is that it can be beneficial to run two coaxial cables as speaker cables, each wired the opposite way, called "cross connected coax cables"
Copied from another forum, to assist in visualising the construction:
"A very high quality speaker cable for the price of an average offering, the Dark Twist from Fisual belies its price tag and punches way above its weight. From design to manufacture this cable impresses as a superb all rounder, with its combination of OFC and SPOFC conductors arranged around a special HDPE core. 2 PP cord fillers are then used and the whole configuration is twisted inside a foil screen and translucent outer jacket. "
1. Translucent Black PVC Jacket
2. Mylar foil screen
3. Silver plated oxygen free copper + oxygen free copper conductor 50/50
4. HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)core
5. HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) insulation
6. PP Fillers
"A very high quality speaker cable for the price of an average offering, the Dark Twist from Fisual belies its price tag and punches way above its weight. From design to manufacture this cable impresses as a superb all rounder, with its combination of OFC and SPOFC conductors arranged around a special HDPE core. 2 PP cord fillers are then used and the whole configuration is twisted inside a foil screen and translucent outer jacket. "
1. Translucent Black PVC Jacket
2. Mylar foil screen
3. Silver plated oxygen free copper + oxygen free copper conductor 50/50
4. HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)core
5. HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) insulation
6. PP Fillers
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I think you listen in an oxygen free room, on a SCBA tank - hey, no matter how crazy an idea you think you came up with, some tweaker has tried it
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